The present invention relates to Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Systems, and more specifically, to techniques for initiating various types of processes in ECM systems. ECM generally refers to the collection strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organization's unstructured information, wherever that information exists.
ECM systems typically include an image viewer application that provides the capability for a user to annotate an image document. The annotations can be used, for example, to call attention to specific areas of the graphic, to apply a stamp of approval, or to add text notes. Most conventional ECM systems also allow users to launch various types of workflows. Certain ECM systems, such as the IBM FileNet P8® Platform, which is available from International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, N.Y., include capabilities for associating a subscription with content events, which events can subsequently launch an associated workflow.
While most ECM systems have capabilities for carrying out a wide range of distinct operations, these operations typically need to be handled separately. Thus, it is both cumbersome and error-prone to require users to both annotate and remember to manually dispatch or launch a workflow process of a work item. It would be desirable to have a more integrated ECM system compared to conventional ECM systems.